Oral Exam Preparation: Day One

Today, I started preparations for the Oral Exam. We started preparations by going over some of questions concerning aircraft maintenance and pilot certification. I even read through a couple A/Ds.

I have been able to take advantage of knowing every maintenance issue with the plane I fly since I am almost exclusively the only pilot using the plane. Any maintenance and A/D compliance does not go unnoticed. However, if I ever rented another plane, I would definitely have to add in extra time to inspect the aircraft logbook. N2229E's log book is organized and without error. I wonder if other logbooks have the same organization and completeness. As with most regulations, compliance can mean many things. In general, compliance does not address intricacies of indexing and organizing records. Rather, it addresses methods of compliance and completeness.

After some ground school, we went flying. It was distracting having an instructor in the plane again. It increased my work load and made me appreciate the work load I will incur when taking on passengers. During the flight we covered the following items.

(1) Slow flight with standard 2 minute turns.
(2) Power-off Stalls
(3) Power-on Stalls
(4) Instrument Flying, with lost procedures, turns to headings, airspeed changes and altitude changes.
(5) Soft Field Take off
(6) Short Field Take off

I made some minor mistakes, listed below.

(1) In a short field take-off, flaps are not required in the 172. The round out (Vr) is 55 KIAS, hold the speed at 59 KIAS as soon as practical until clear of the obstacle. Weight and density altitude determine the length in distance to reach these INDICATED speeds. I used flaps and then needed to apply soft field techniques. This is not a bad thing, as short fields are often soft fields. However, I need to recognize the difference.
(2) When doing pattern calls, saying 'turning to base'. Use 'entering' only when entering the pattern like 'entering at 45 to downwind for runway 22'.
(3) I tend to use long base approaches to establish a nice stable approach. If an Engine fails and there is wind, I will not make it. My instructor wants me to pull it in a bit tighter.
(4) I tend mush around a bit while preparing to make altitude changes. If a altitude change notification is given by 'ATC' to descend or ascend, immediately establish a 500 FPM vertical velocity through power changes and trim. Do not exclusively dive and do not pull up. Both cases change the forward velocity of the plane, faster or slower respectively.
(5) I usually respond to unsighted traffic calls with 'looking for traffic'. The correct phraseology is 'negative traffic'.

If today's flight was my check ride, would I have passed? Yes. However, I am not going to settle for that. I want to be instrumented rated, which requires an increased level of accuracy. As my instructor says, he wants me to "kick some ass". I am on it.